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Lenin Moreno

Inside Ecuador’s Citizens Revolution

Quito, Ecuador - The South American nation of Ecuador is currently suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades. Poverty is skyrocketing, corruption is rampant, and the US-backed government has shown itself to be deeply undemocratic. On February 7, Ecuador will hold a historic election that could fundamentally change its direction, moving the nation away from its current neoliberal policies and reliance on Washington, and restoring the socialist-oriented program of former President Rafael Correa, who launched a progressive movement called the Citizens’ Revolution.

Ecuador’s Election Promises Advance For Socialism In Latin America

Four years after turncoat Lenin Moreno claimed the presidency and turned the country inside out, Ecuador will elect a new president on February 7, 2021. Moreno betrayed the citizen’s revolution he had promised to continue, and with his approval rating somewhere between 7 percent (CEDATOS, September 2020) and 16 percent (Atlas Intel, December 2020), Moreno will not be seeking re-election. After winning the presidency in 2017, Moreno turned his back on his predecessor and nominator Rafael Correa and double-crossed the PAIS Alliance party they both belonged to. Moreno is widely despised as a result, and the PAIS Alliance has been virtually wiped off the map, as correísta (pro-Correa) members moved over to the newly formed coalition...

Ecuador Protests New Neoliberal Measures Amid Lockdown

Unions, students, teachers, workers, and social organizations took to the streets in Quito as others followed from home in several cities Monday with a pot-banging protest. In Quito, Cuenca, and Guayaquil the protesters challenged the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and took the streets to demand the withdrawal of the measures, and also to defend public education, health, and labor rights. Central Workers' Organization (CUT) President Richard Gomez declared the demonstrators will remain in constant mobilization until their purpose is achieved.

Bodies In The Streets: IMF Imposed Measures Have Left Ecuador Unable To Cope With Coronavirus

If you are using one of the many coronavirus incidence trackers, the Pacific country of Ecuador does not seem to be particularly badly affected by COVID-19. Officially, the country has less than 7,500 cases and 333 deaths. But everybody knows this number is nonsense, including President Lenín Moreno, who freely admitted that authorities were collecting over 100 dead bodies a day from Guayaquil city alone, the epicenter of the pandemic tormenting his country. Ecuador’s limited state has essentially collapsed under the strain of COVID-19, with dozens of videos circulating showing dead bodies left in the streets, with no one to collect them. The country has already run out of coffins, so corpses are buried in cardboard boxes or simply left in trucking containers.

Ecuadorian Opponents Reject Lenin Moreno’s Economic Reform

The Lenin Moreno Administration is moving in two fronts since the mass mobilizations that took place in Ecuador about a month ago. On the one hand, it is criminalizing social protests so opponents can be charged with “rebellion.” This is how they managed to imprison members of Rafael Correa’s political party, Citizen Revolution, as well as leaders of indigenous organizations. Three legislators of this movement requested asylum at Mexico’s Embassy to Ecuador in this connection. On the other hand, the Government is trying to impose economic measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Days ago, opponents rejected a mega economic reform bill adapted to the markets.

Ecuador: More Uprisings Ahead As Moreno Fails To Listen To The People

Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno seems to be determined to not listen to the claims being demanded across the country that began only 20 days ago. Revoking Decree 883, which eliminated fuel subsidies, led to a struggle between the Government and indigenous organizations headed by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). As this issue is still under political discussion, the Government continues bowing to the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ecuadorean President Moreno Accused Of Helping The CIA

Former Foreign Minister of Ecuador Ricardo Patiño has accused President Lenin Moreno of working for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “Moreno became a CIA insider due to blackmailing… We are absolutely sure that while Moreno was in Geneva (working as the United Nations Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility), he established a very close relationship with the CIA and the U.S. Administration because they may have found his secret bank accounts in Panama, opened by his brother to save money from corruption,” Patiño told Sputnik. Deputy Ronny Aleaga, member of the now opponent Citizen Revolution party founded by former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), filed documents with the Attorney’s Office on Anti-Corruption accusing Moreno of purchasing an apartment by means of bribery during his term as Correa’s vice-president.

Ecuadorians Protest Neo-liberal Austerity And Win

President Lenin Moreno restored neo-liberalism to Ecuador, accepting a $4.2 billion dollar loan from the US-dominated International Monetary Fund that required measures call 'structural adjustments'. These included putting austerity in place in order to repay the loan. When Moreno announced Decree 883, or "The [Austerity] Package," on October 4, the country erupted in a general strike with mass protests in many cities. Moreno imposed a national emergency, fled to the coast and sent police and troops to repress the protests. At least ten people died and thousands were injured. We speak with Wellington Echegaray, an Ecuadorian living in the United States, about the protests and about the history of political instability and difficult living conditions that led to this uprising.

Ecuador: Moreno’s Government Sacrifices The Poor To Satisfy The IMF

Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno has been cutting government spending since signing an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in February of this year. This policy has benefited multinational corporations, the banks, and in general, powerful economic groups at the expense of the middle and working classes, who are being pushed toward poverty and extreme poverty. In the context of the IMF negotiations, the administration issued a law ironically called “the Organic Law to Foster Productivity, Attract Investment, and Create Jobs, Stability, and a Balanced Budget,” which has been in force since August of 2018. The law brought neoliberalism back to the country by instituting a policy to reduce the budget deficit and national debt, which have now become the top priorities.

Ecuadorian Protests Against President Moreno Continue, Face Police Repression

Saturday, October 12, Quito, Ecuador - In the early hours of the morning of this Saturday, law enforcement began an attack against protesters in an area near the Arbolito Park. The Ecuadorian police launched pellets and tear gas against a group of protesters in the immediate vicinity of the National Assembly of Ecuador on Saturday, the tenth day of social protests against the economic reforms of the government President Lenín Moreno. In the early hours of the morning of this Saturday, law enforcement began a raid against protesters in an area near the Arbolito Park, calling for the repeal of several measures, which include increases in fuel prices.  As yesterday, the police repressed the concentration of protesters with pellets and tear gas.

Ecuador: Indigenous Groups, Workers Continue Protests

Indigenous organisations and workers' groups in Ecuador have vowed to continue protests against President Lenin Moreno's scrapping of decades-long fuel subsidies.  The pledge on Saturday came a day after Moreno, who took office in 2017, refused to back down over the austerity policy, imposed under a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that doubled the price of fuel overnight and sharply raised gasoline prices.  The measure, which came into effect on Thursday, prompted two days of unrest, with transport unions calling a strike and protesters clashing with police and blocking roads with tires, stones and branches. Authorities have arrested more than 350 people and Moreno, who declared a two-month state of emergency, told reporters: "Listen clearly. I am not going to change the measure. The subsidy is finished."

Ecuador: Social Movements Mobilize Against Economic Measures

Social movements and unions such as Ecuador’s Workers Unity Front (FUT) and the National Citizens' Assembly have announced plans to protest against new measures announced by the government of Lenin Moreno, including a reduction in gasoline subsidies. One such demonstration is expected to take place next Thursday in Quito, the country's capital. "We announce to the country the progressive start of mobilizations until the government of businessmen repeals the increase in the price of gasoline and eliminate all neoliberal economic policies that affect Ecuador."

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